George w



No. 8|7,|02. 4 Patented lan. 3, 1899.. G. W. luRKPATmcK.

GRAIN DRILL.

(Appumin med mr. 28, 1898:,

(No Model.)

W WWMMW #14 LM QWWWW Nr'rim GEORGE VV. KIRKPATRICK, OF MAOEDON, NEV YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE BICKFORD & IIUFFMAN COMPANY, OF SAME PLAOE.

GRAIN-DRILL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 617,102, dated January 3, 18'99.

Application filed March 23, 1898.

To all witam, it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. KIRKPAT- RICK, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Macedon, county of Wayne, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Grain-Drills or other Agricultural Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to grain-drills or other agricultural machines, and more especially to that class of grain-drills or agricultural machines wherein the ground or carrying Wheels are dished or concavedthat is to say, inclined at an angle upon the main shaft or axle of the machine. Such a construction is presented, for example, in the United States patent to A. J. Martin, No. 37 6,538, patented January 17, 1888. In this patent the ground or carrying Wheels are mounted upon inclined or conically-shaped bearings or journals in such manner that the spokes of the carrying- Wheels, which for the time being support the Weight of the machine, are in a substantially Vertical position. In this arrangement of machine the main shaft or axle, which by its rotation imparts motion to the operative mechanisms of the machine, passes through and turns within the journals or bearings and is connected by suitable clutching devices to the ground or carrying Wheels in such manner that it is caused to rotate When the machine is moving forwardly. This rotation of the shaft or axle is efiected by a clutching mechanism consisting of a disk secured to the end of the shaft or axle and having a toothed flange adapted to engage dogs or pawls pivoted to the hub of the ground-Wheel. Vhile this arrangement has been found simple and effective in practice, it may happen, due to the inclined position of the Wheels upon the shaft, that the upper portion of the disk may be pressed upon and frictionally held by the hub of the ground-Wheel in such manner that the shaft to which it is secured is turned thereby entirely independently of the normal action of the clutching mechanism. This binding action of the hub upon the disk is especially apt to occur When an unusuallateral strain is thrown upon the carrying-Wheel, due to the irregular or hilly character of the Serial No. 674,873. (No model.)

ground over which the machine is caused to pass, or when, as sometimes happens, the journal or bearin g or the bore of the hub which is carried thereon has become worn and thrown out of true. Under either set of circumstances there is a tendency to this binding or jamming action and of the consequent abnormal engagernent between'the hub and disk, and when this occurs a further disad- Vantage arises in the inability to move the machine rearwardly without engagemen't between the hub and disk, thereby causing the improper rotation of the shaft or axle during such rearward motion of the machine. order to avoid these difficulties, I have devised a form of connection between the hub of the ground-wheel and the clutchin g device upon the shaft or axle, Whereby the Varying position of the hub upon the inclined or conical journal or bearing is compensated for by a yielding member, thus obviating the liability to a jam or bind in the clutch mechanism and at the same time affording a more extended bearing-surface for the hub and aiding to maintain the Wheel in proper position.

To these ends my invention consists, in connection With the dished` or concaved Wheels supported upon inclined or conically-shaped bearings, first, of a yielding connection between the hub of the carrying-wheel and the clutching devices upon the main shaft, and,

second, in the provision of an extension from the hub proper, affording an increased bearimg-surface upon the journal.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal Vertical section showing the hub of the ground or carrying wheel, the inclined journal or bearing, the shaft or axle, the clutching mechanism, and the connecting device to the hub, taken on the line 1 1 in Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a Vertical sectional View on the line 2 2 in Fig. 1. Fig.

3 is a detail View showing the spline connection between the hub and the clutching devices.

The inclined journals or bearings F, one of which is shown in Fig. 1, are mounted upon the main frame of the machine in any suitable manner and may be of any suitable or IOO approved construction. Mounted upon the journal or bearing F is the hub A of the ground or carrying wheel, which is provided with the spokes A2 in the customary manner. Supported in the journal or bearing F is the main shaft or axle B, which is rotated from the ground or carrying wheels during the forward motion of the machine and from which by suitable gearing motion is imparted to the various mechanisms of the machine. All of these parts may be similar in form and construction to those shown in the patent to Martin, No. 376,538, previously referred to. Instead, however, of effecting direct connection between the disk upon the end of the shaft or axle and the hub of the carrying-wheel,as in the said patent, I have provided a form of yielding connection between the disk and the hub of the carrying-wheel in order to compensate for the changing angular position of the carrying-wheel, and to prevent the possibility of binding action or frictional engagement in the clutch.

Fast upon the end of the shaft or axle Bis the disk or clutch member E, rigidly secured to the said shaft or aXle-as, for instance, by means of the set-screw E2. Loose upon the shaft B and free to turn thereon is the disk or clutch member D, which is caused to rotate by reason of its connection to the hub A in the manner hereinafter to be described. The disk or clutch member D is provided with an internally toothed or serrated ring D2, which engages the pawl or dog E', carried by the disk or clutch member E, in such manner that the forward movement of the machine effects the engagement and turning of the disk E and main shaft or axle B by the engagement of the toothed ring D2 with the pawl E' and so that the rearward movement of the machine permits the reverse rotation of the disk or clutch member D without the engagement and turning of the disk E and shaft or axle B.

The rotary motion of the hub A is imparted to the disk or clutch member D in the following manner: The hub A is provided with an extended portion A',which projects from the hub proper and which enters and engages the disk or clutch member D in such manner as to transmit the motion of the carrying-wheel thereto. In order to com pensate for the varying angular position of the hub A upon the inclined journal or bearing F, I have connected the portion A' of the hub to the disk or clutch member D by a splined connection D'. (See Figs. 1 and 3.) It will be seen that I have constructed this connection in such manner as to permit of considerable play of the part A' within the disk or clutch member D, but at the same time to secure the rotation of the disk or clutch member D in unison with the hub A. In other words, the splined connection D' constitutes, in effect, a species of universal or knuckle joint, thereby permitting the necessary play and vibration of the part A' of the hub A, but insuring` an effective connection with the disk or clutch member D. It will be seen that the provision of the intermediate disk or clutch member D, which turns upon the shaft B and is always parallel with the disk or clutch member E, prevents any binding action or jam in the clutching mechanism and that the yielding connection of the hub A to the clutch member D permits of the necessary play due to the changing of the relative angular position between the hub and the clutching mechanism.

Vhile I have shown a splined connection between the hub and the clutching` mechanism, it will be understood that this is merely a preferred construction,but that other forms of yielding connection may be employed without departing from the spirit of my invention. A further advantage of this construction arises in the fact that the projected portion A' of the hub A aifords an additional bearing-surface for the hub upon the journal or bearing F, thereby increasing the resistance of the carrying-wheel to lateral pressure and more certainly insuring its correct position upon the bearing and at the same time decreasing the liability to wear in any single locality, either in the bore of the hub A or upon the journal or bearing F.

I-Iaving thus described my invention,what I claim, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. In a grain-drill or other agricultural machine, the combination with the shaft or axle suitably supported in the main frame, and the hub of the dished or inclined carrying-wheel, of clutching devices whereby the shaft or axle is caused to rotate by the forward movement of the carrying-Wheel, and a yielding connection between said hub and the clutching devices, substantially as described.

2. In a grain-drill or other agricultural machine, the combination with the shaft or axle suitably supported in the main frame, and the hub of the inclined or dished carrying-wheel, of clutching devices whereby the shaft or axle is caused to rotate by the forward movement of the carrying-wheel, said clutching devices comprising a clutch member rigidly secured to the shaft or axle, a second clutch member free to turn thereon, and a suitable yielding` connection between said hub and the second clutch member, substantially as described.

3. In a grain-drill or other agricultural machine, the combination with the shaft or aXle suitably supported in the main frame, and the hub of the inclined or dished carrying-wheel, of clutching devices whereby the shaft or axle is caused to rotate by the forward movement of the carrying-wheel, said clutching devices comprising a clutch member rigidly secured to the shaft or axle and a second clutch member free to turn thereon, and said hub being` provided With an extended portion connected to the second clutch member in such manner IOO IIO

as to compensate for the varying angular position of the hub With reference thereto, substantially as described.

4:. In a grain-drill or other agricultural machine, the combination of an inclined or conically-shaped j onrnal fixed to the main frame, the hub of the inclined or dished carrying- Wheel supported thereon, the shaft or aXle extending through and supported Within the journal, and clutching devices whereby the shaft or axle is caused to rotate by the for- Ward movement of the carrying-wheel, said clutching devices comprising a clutch member fixed upon the shaft or axle, and a second clutch member supported on said shaft or axle and free to turn thereon, together With a yielding connection between the hub of the carrying-wheel and the second clutch member, substantially as described.

5. In a grain-drill or other agricultural ma' chine, the combination of an inclined or conically-shaped journal fixed to the main frame, the hub of the inclined or dished carrying being provided with an extended portion bearing` upon the journal to increase the rigidity of the carrying-wheel, and provided With a yielding connection between such extended portion and the second clutch member, substantially as described.

In testimony Whereof I have hereunto set my hand, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 3d day of March, 1898.

GEORGE VV. KIRKPATRICK.

In presence of- F. P. ALLYN, WAYNE GALLUP. 

